Domenico Modugno
Tutto Modugno: Mr Volare 1956-1964

THE REVIEW

May the spirit of Domenico Modugno forgive me, as I'm about to give 3 measly stars to one of his albums, even though it is an anthology.

So, let's go step by step. There are countless anthologies of Modugno, some of exquisite class (at least to mention, "La Storia" from RTI in 1994 and the one from 2008 commendably distributed by Rai titled "Mr Volare!" complemented by an appropriate DVD), some bland, anonymous, from supermarket, from highway service areas, and I have a copy of these, and it's precisely this "Tutto Modugno," also released in 2008, but distributed by Rhino, which, it must be said, never really got it right.

Now, having the audacity to cram Modugno's work from 1956 to 1964 into just 2 CDs is already madness, given the impressive mass of songs he released in those 8 years, his best. However, it must be said that at least the more decadent period of Modugno, that is, the '70s, which apart from "La lontananza" (which was no longer at the level of his previous works), saw the Apulian singer-songwriter record trash like "Piange il telefono," "Il vecchietto," and "Il maestro di violino," has been appropriately omitted. Excellent, this alone is worth 1 point, or maybe 2, more.

So let's focus on the highway service area piece (and indeed it was there, at the Modena service area where I bought it) and quickly read through the tracklist.

Apparently, everything is there, "Nel blu dipinto di blu," "La donna riccia," "Io, mammeta e tu," "Lazzarella," "Pasqualino Marajà," "Vecchio frack," "Piove," "Tre briganti e tre somari," "Selene," "Stasera pago io," "Tu 'si na cosa grande," just to name the most famous. Oh well, there are some omissions, but they are details. And, even more commendable, are all original, no re-arranged track perhaps in the '80s or thereabouts. Then okay, the order is not chronological, and it's no small thing since Modugno's musical evolution also involves a certain temporal linearity. We can't expect too much, after all, I'm still at the service area and spending 10 euros. The sandwich and the Coke cost more, let's face it.

But, and here I won't budge, you can't, not even in 2008, feed the public an anthology not properly remastered. The songs are old, the records from which they are taken pure, and hearing the crackle of a 45 rpm (which then, perhaps, is the crackle of a 45 rpm) with the voice fading in and out, the audio randomly switching from mono to stereo in the same song, and an evident sense of widespread sloppiness (the fifth track of the first CD, "Nisciuno po' sapè," could shatter an elephant's eardrums unless warned, while the next one has a volume more suitable for a visit to the ENT specialist to understand if one can still perceive the faintest sound). Thus, in front of such little respect for the listener, I get pissed off.

Then don't tell me, oh well, it's highway service area stuff, because I can even overlook it in the case of an anonymous product with a cheap packaging (which it indeed is), but still amen, but not that an embarrassing product is given to the masses from a sound point of view as if we were still in the '90s cassettes era. Which then, a truckload of nostalgia for that time.

To avoid misunderstandings, I consider Modugno a genius.